


Word on the Street

by twyly56



Category: The Originals (TV), The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: Angst, Aunt Rebekah Mikaelson, Big Brother Damon Salvatore, Bracelets, Compulsion, Damon is a Worried Little Cookie, Everyone is Protective of Hope, Fluff, Heartache, Hybrid Klaus Mikaelson, Kid Hope Mikaelson, Matchmaker Hope Mikaelson, New Orleans, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Painting, Parent Klaus Mikaelson, Pining Stefan Salvatore, Precious Hope Mikaelson, Protective Klaus Mikaelson, Protective Stefan Salvatore, Repressed Memories, Stefan Salvatore Goes to New Orleans, Sweet Stefan Salvatore, Uncle Elijah Mikaelson
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-12
Updated: 2019-02-23
Packaged: 2019-10-26 18:38:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17751296
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/twyly56/pseuds/twyly56
Summary: Klaus did compel Stefan to forget them, but he found that he was filled with the strangest urge to visit New Orleans. He did that every few years, wandering around the city aimlessly, searching for something. Or /someone/. He didn't really know. He finds a little girl with a silver bracelet sitting alone in the park one evening, and he becomes fast friends with her.





	1. Chapter 1

After wandering around the sidewalks of the city for what felt like hours, the sun in a different position in the sky, Stefan sat down on a bench with a hand rubbing idly at his forehead. The pressure behind his eyes when he tried to remember just ached. When his eyes opened again, they fell on a small girl, not more than six or seven, standing near the trail surrounded by trees, holding a silver little chain in her hand to her chest, looking lost. Stefan glanced around to see if there was someone looking for her, but there did not appear to be anyone waiting nearby.

The girl almost crashed into a man carrying a birthday cake, and the adult gave her a dirty look. Stefan saw the girl tremble with what could have been nervousness, and he quickly walked up to her, placing himself in front of the owner of the cake. The human man transferred his harsh look from the kid to him, shooting daggers of irritation at Stefan with his eyes. Stefan fought the urge to tear his throat out, feeling a fraction of the rage he had felt in his Ripper days. Back then, he wouldn't have even hesitated to do such a thing. The man would be on the ground with his arms and head detached from his body, and Stefan would have had his fangs embedded in his headless neck. 

"I'm so sorry. She's just a kid," Stefan said.

"Whatever," mumbled the man, and he walked away glaring at the girl. Petty. Stefan rolled his eyes and knelt down next to the kid, dirt crunching under his boots.

"Hey there, sweetheart," he said.

The little girl stared up at Stefan with big doe eyes that glistened like pale sapphires, clutching the little chain in her hand even tighter. Stefan smiled softly.

"Are you lost?" he asked her. The girl blinked.

"My dad says never talk to strangers," she said.

"Fair enough. And your dad is right," Stefan responded, keeping his voice gentle so as to not scare her. The little girl lit up like a Christmas tree, suddenly very enthusiastic.

"He's always right! My dad is the best!" she told him. Stefan nodded.

"I'm sure he is. How about we find your dad, huh?" he suggested.

"You can find him?" the girl asked hopefully.

"Sure. What's your name?" Stefan asked.

"Hope," the girl replied.

"Okay, Hope. My name is Stefan. Now when did you last see him?" Stefan asked her.

"Um... I don't know," replied Hope with worried eyes. "He was in the room above me when the bad guys came. It was an old church a few streets down."

That didn't sound very good at all. But he kept his apprehension buried and just nodded.

"Don't worry, Hope. We'll find him," Stefan assured her.

"Pinky promise?" she asked. Hope held her pinky finger high in air. Stefan nodded, looking serious. He intertwined their pinky fingers, locking them together.

"Pinky promise," Stefan said. "Now, let's go check out that church you mentioned."

"If you're fibbing, I can hurt you. I've done it before," Hope stated in the most matter of fact voice he had ever heard. It was a bit disconcerting to hear from such a young kid, but he just smiled.

"I can understand that," Stefan said.

"Can I hold your hand?" Hope asked, with the sweetest little smile, and Stefan answered by taking her small hand in his.

"So tell me how does your dad look? What was he wearing?" he asked her.

"My dad is thiiiiiis tall," Hope said. She raised her free hand high up, almost losing her grip on the silver chain in her grasp. Stefan felt his lips twitch up in a small smile as the girl continued. "He is wearing jeans and a black shirt... um..." Her blue eyes went wide. "He has curly hair. Brown, just like me. But shorter. Sorta like yours."

"Okay. Let the search begin," Stefan said. He wasn't sure how on earth he was supposed to find a man fitting the description she had just given him. There had to be at least dozens of men in New Orleans that fit that profile. 

"Do you see him?" Hope asked him after a few minutes of them walking around the park, hand in hand. Her eyes were peering around on the darkening path. Stefan shook his head.

"Not yet, but we'll soon find him, okay?" he said. He noticed Hope seemed to droop a little at his words and thought of a distraction. "So this dad of yours... does he play any games with you?"

Hope nodded with a broad smile. 

"Always! He drops me off at school and takes me to the park where they have the huge swings with Mom. He is the best dad!" the girl told him. "Sometimes, he paints with me. We do it in the backyard." 

"He sounds like a pretty cool guy. I can't wait to meet him," Stefan said. 

They continued walking for a while more, even as the sky grew dark and the moon came out. The lights on the side of the trails lit up, lighting up the ground around them. Stefan was a vampire, so he didn't really worry about them getting mugged or anything at the late hour. Though he was worried about if they couldn't find anyone that the girl knew. He wasn't quite sure what he would do then. She wasn't a vampire, and she would have to sleep and eat eventually. 

"Hope!" he heard someone yell, and they both turned toward the sound. Hope's face lit up, brightening into a smile. She let go of Stefan's hand and ran toward the man standing by the edge of the street. 

"Dad!" Hope said. She stopped a few feet away from him and stared down at his hands, frowning a little. Stefan could smell the blood on him from where he was standing. "What happened?" 

The man looked down at his hands, as if he had just noticed the state of them for the first time. He looked back at Hope. 

"It's, uh, it's paint. I made quite a mess, didn't I?" the man said. He gave her a reassuring smile. 

"Where's Mom?" Hope asked. 

"She's at home. Waiting for you," the man said. He lowered himself into a kneeling position in front of her. "Are you okay?" His eyes seemed to fall on the silver chain still clasped in her hand. "You took your bracelet off." 

"Dad, don't be mad. I... I was scared, and they came into the room. I didn't know what to do," the girl admitted, looking down at her feet. "And I know I'm not supposed to talk to strangers, either, but he kept me safe." 

Stefan noticed the man glance up at him for a moment, blinking like he was surprised, before his expression became shuttered. The man gave his daughter the most tender look, smiling softly. 

"I'm not angry, sweetheart. Come here," he said. The man pulled her into a hug, wrapping his arms around her. His eyes shut, and Stefan could see the raw relief on his face as he rest his head on his daughter's shoulder. When he pulled back and moved to stand, holding the girl's small hand, Hope looked back at Stefan. 

"He's my friend, Dad. His name's Stefan," she told him. The man looked at him. 

"Thank you for watching over my daughter," he said. 

"It wasn't a problem. She's a sweet kid," Stefan replied. 

"Dad. You should say your name, too. Then everyone will know their names," Hope prompted. 

"Oh. Yes," the man murmured. He squeezed her hand lightly. "I am Klaus." 

"Cool name," Stefan said. There was a moment of awkward silence that followed, and Hope looked between them curiously. 

"We should, ah, get going, Littlest Wolf," the man named Klaus told his daughter. 

"Okay, Dad. Bye, Stefan!" Hope said.

"Goodbye, Hope," Stefan responded. 

She waved her little hand at him as Klaus guided her down the street into the inky black night. Stefan watched them go. His chest felt warmer than it had in decades. He rubbed his temples and started to trek back to his motel room. 


	2. Chapter 2

_"Seriously, Stefan? Where the hell are you? It's been two weeks,"_ Stefan heard his brother say over the phone line. 

"I told you already. I'm in Louisiana," Stefan replied. 

 _"You're still in New Orleans? Why?"_ Damon asked. _"What happened to the whole_ 'Oh, I'll just be gone a couple days, Damon?' _"_

"It's not like I actually have to go to school. I don't need to come back yet. I'm a grown man. And I'm taking a vacation," Stefan told him. "Besides, don't you have a girlfriend to bother?"

He couldn't - or wouldn't, rather - tell Damon that he was trying to see if he could find that kid again. It made him feel... _nice_ to talk to her. He wasn't quite sure why. And maybe he could finally figure out what that blank spot in his head was. The one that made him get a migraine when he tried to think on it too long. God, now that he thought about it, it made him feel like a stalker. 

 _"Damn it, brother. You're starting to worry me,"_ Damon said. Stefan felt a bit bad when he heard the genuine concern in his big brother's voice. Damon rarely showed real emotions like that nowadays, and he was the one causing that. He sighed, running a hand through his hair and leaning against a tree. 

"Don't be. I am fine, Damon," Stefan assured him. 

 _"If you're not in Virginia by Friday, I swear I will come down there and check on you myself,"_ Damon said. He spotted a familiar head of wavy brown hair as she walked across the grass, picking little yellow flowers out of the greenery. She already had a small bunch of them in her left hand. 

"Great. Uh, have fun with that," Stefan responded absently. 

 _"Stefan-"_ Damon said. 

"I have to go," Stefan cut him off. He took the phone away from his ear and hung up, flipping the device shut and shoving it into his back pocket. The little girl seemed to notice him, and she bounced toward him with a smile. 

"Hi, Stefan!" Hope said. She held out a slightly squished dandelion to him. "Do you want one?" 

"Sure," Stefan replied. He reached out to grab it, but she just giggled and shook her head. 

"No, silly. You wear it like this," Hope told him. She demonstrated by sticking one in the braided section of hair on her head. He nodded, blinking. 

"Oh. I see now. Could you do it for me? I'm not that good with hair things," Stefan said. 

"Yeah," Hope agreed happily. 

Stefan crouched down, so she could stick the flower in his hair. It sort of felt like she knotted two pieces of hair together in order to keep it in place. The little girl patted his head in satisfaction and nodded. She put her hands on her hips, a proud glint in her blue eyes. He pushed himself to his feet. 

"There. All done," Hope told him. 

"Thank you," Stefan said with a smile.

"So... who were you talkin' to on the phone?" Hope asked. 

"Sorry?" Stefan said. 

"I saw you earlier. You were talking on the phone. Who was it?" the little girl repeated. 

"Oh. Uh, well, that was my older brother," Stefan told her. 

"What's his name?" Hope asked, sounding curious. 

"His name is Damon," Stefan replied. She smiled. 

"That's a cool name," Hope said. 

"It is, isn't it?" Stefan agreed. When he was little, he used to think everything about Damon was cool, as she had put it. 

"What did he want?" Hope asked. 

"Oh, he was just checking in on me. I don't actually live here, you know," Stefan admitted. 

"Where do you live?" Hope asked. 

"I don't think you've heard of it," Stefan said. 

"I'm smarter than I look. Try me," Hope told him. His lips twitched. 

"It's called Mystic Falls," Stefan said. The small girl blinked. She frowned. 

"...fine. I don't know where that is," Hope admitted. 

"It's in Virginia," Stefan said. "It's a pretty small town." 

"Oh." She looked down at her feet for a moment. "Is it fun having a brother?" Hope asked him. 

"Uh, it can be sometimes. Not all the time. Usually, Damon likes to pick on me, so it's not so fun but it's not all bad," Stefan said. "It was pretty nice when we were younger, though. Our relationship just got... complicated as we grew up." 

"Ah. Like Dad and Uncle Kol and Uncle Elijah," Hope mused. She nodded to herself. The girl grinned up at him, holding her dandelions in one hand, and she grabbed his hand with her other one. "Want to meet my mom?"

"Uh, sure," Stefan said. 

"Cool! Come on, Stefan," Hope insisted.

She started to tug him across the grass, and he followed the little girl. Hope led him to a spot where there was a woman with dark hair sitting on a bench. The woman blinked at them, furrowing her brow at the sight in front of her. The little girl waved her dandelion filled hand. 

"Hi, Mommy. This is Stefan. Remember? I told you about him," Hope said. There was a flicker of realization in the woman's dark eyes. 

"Oh. I see. It's nice to meet you, then," her mom told him. "I'm Hayley." 

"Hello," Stefan said. 

"Is Dad coming today, Mommy?" Hope asked. 

"He should be here any minute," Hayley replied.

Hope just smiled. The small girl gave Stefan a _look,_ and he felt confused. If he hadn't known any better, he would have said that it looked she was imitating his brother, minus the infamous eyebrow wiggle. But that didn't make any sense. He was probably imagining it. 

"Hi, Dad!" Hope said. She bounced over to her father, holding out her arms. The man reached down to pick her up and spin her around. His laugh mingled with the girl's, and it brought a smile to Stefan's face. It was adorable. Klaus set the girl back on the ground again, and she giggled. 

"Hello, my Littlest Wolf. What are you up to today?" her father asked. 

"I was playing with Mommy, and I painted. Then I talked to Stefan," Hope told him with a grin. The man seemed to notice Stefan. 

"Oh. That's good. Did you have fun?" Klaus asked. 

"Mm hmm. Do you want to pick flowers with us, Dad?" Hope asked. 

"Meaning you and your mom?" Klaus said. 

"No. Me and Stefan," Hope responded. She smiled sweetly. 

"Stefan and I," Hayley corrected. 

"Do you want to pick flowers with Stefan and I?" Hope repeated. Klaus looked at Stefan, and for a split second, he felt his throat go dry. The man gave him a smile and looked back to his daughter. 

"Yes. Let's go pick flowers," Klaus said. Hope slipped her small hand into his, and she shot a wink at Stefan. The vampire blinked. 


End file.
